A Question of Identity Sermon SHORT
“A Question of Identity”
Acts 21:37-22:21
July 20, 2008
Identity determines destiny.
I’m talking about getting a Bible grip on what the Scripture says is true of you—and why it’s true of you, which is critically important. In our text today, Paul has an opportunity to tell his story, to identify himself to a howling mob intent on his execution.
Paul had finally made it to Jerusalem in time for the Feast of Pentecost, intent on delivering the offering collected from the Gentiles for the impoverished Christians in Jerusalem, an offering he was intent on delivering personally because of the solidarity it showed between Gentiles and Jews in Christ. All along the way, though, Paul had been warned, time and again, that what awaited him in Jerusalem was pain and imprisonment. But with laser focus on what Paul believed God had called him to do, he went forward. Sure enough, Paul was arrested by the Romans, more as a measure to save his life than for any wrongdoing on his part.
Note first a case of
I. Mistaken Identity – 21:37-38
Three years earlier a Egyptian Jewish terrorist had appeared claiming to be a prophet. The tribune jumped to the conclusion that the reason the crowd was so incensed was because this impostor was back, and some people who’d been duped by him were incensed at his presence.
II. Old Identity – 21:39-22:5
The first words of Paul’s old identity are given to the tribune, in order to clear up his identity with him. Paul spoke in the vernacular of the people, the Aramaic idiom of Hebrew, and asked them to listen to his defense. The crowd, to its momentary credit and perhaps because Paul chose to speak in their heart language, did give its attention to the apostle.
Paul begins his story by talking about the man that he had once been. He sets his conversion into the context of his identity as a Jew. To begin to establish his claim, he speaks of his birth, upbringing, and education, a triad of identity markers which firmly place him in the context of 1st-century Judaism. In Philippians 3:5, he describes himself as a “Hebrew of the Hebrews”, one who need not apologize to anyone as to his heritage.
Let’s tackle this truth: our identity is not first that of our earthly citizenship. The allegiance which we pledge to our flag and the “republic for which it stands” pales in comparison to our allegiance to “His Kingdom and His righteousness”, which must be the first object of our affections and attention.
Paul didn’t just have the right lineage; he had appropriate zeal as well. He had been enthusiastic in his defense of what he believed was true.
III. New Identity – 22:6-21
Here comes the turning point, though, the complete change in Paul’s identity: it comes in relation to a Person, Jesus Christ, for in Christ, Paul finds a new
A. Master – 22:6-10a
Paul had a heavenly confrontation, he tells his audience. This was something Paul neither sought nor provoked, something “out of the blue” as Paul was headed resolutely in one direction. We call to mind Paul’s words in Philippians 3:7-8: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Paul’s natural response to the confrontation, thinking again as a good Jew, was, “what do I do, Lord?”
B. Mandate – 22:10b-16
Note how Paul describes Ananias: “a devout man according to the Law”. Here’s a guy who is a strict Jew, yet who has also found Christ as his Messiah. He speaks in Jewish terminology as well, speaking of the “God of our fathers” and using the Messianic title for Christ, calling Him the “Righteous One”. The mandate Paul is given is done so in Jewish terms.
• Know God’s will
• See Christ
• Hear Christ’s voice
And the purpose for which these things happen to Paul is that he might be a witness of all he has seen and heard of Christ. Ananias commands Paul to undergo baptism, the always-appropriate outward symbol of inner transformation in Christ.
C. Mission – 22:17-21
Paul here references his return to Jerusalem some time later, three years after his conversion. It was his intent to be a witness right there in the city; he at that point didn’t understand that his mission was to be to Gentiles. But Paul attributes his change in life mission to another encounter with the risen Christ, in which Christ tells him clearly that Jerusalem is not the place where he will have fruitful ministry. Christ instead sends him to the Gentiles!
Why wouldn’t the Jews respond well to the reminder that God had called them to reach Gentiles and show them His light? It’s because Paul wasn’t making these Gentiles proselytes to Jewish faith, but rather teaching them that they could come directly to God in Christ without first becoming Jews and observing Jewish law and customs. What was Paul saying? It sounded like heresy to them, but like grace to us: Paul was saying that at the foot of the cross, the ground was level, that Jews had no special claim on God because of their heritage, that Jews and Gentiles were equal with respect to God, that both could come to God by way of the cross of Christ, or not at all. That message was offensive then, and it’s offensive now.
Paul’s Story/My Story
• An “Old Man”
According to Scripture we are born, if you will, “old men”, because the chief characteristic of this “old man” is that he/she is identified by sin. Romans 6 speaks of our “old man”, or our “old self”, the people that we are before an encounter with Jesus Christ. We all have a history, and the chief characteristic of that history is that “all have sinned, and fall short of God’s glory.”
But that’s not the end of Paul’s story, nor of ours:
• Measured by the Master
The Bible never identifies me, as a follower of Christ, by my sin. My measure now is not my sin; it is my Master, Jesus Christ. What is true of me is true because of what God has done for me in Christ. When I say “identity is destiny”, I’m talking about your identity as a new creation in Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:17), not the “old man” gussied up or convinced that he’s “worth it” or “made it” or what-have-you. I am who I am in relation to Who He is and what He’s done for me! In I Corinthians 15:10, Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”
o Fully forgiven
Here’s Ephesians 1:7-8a, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.” You are fully, finally, forever forgiven in Christ of every last one of your sins past, present, and future. You were at one time identified by your sin—in fact, Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that we are dead in our sins, by nature—dead men walking, as it were. And yet now, in Jesus Christ, God wipes the slate entirely and completely clean.
God’s forgiveness doesn’t depend on our feelings; there may be many reasons why at any given point in our lives we may not “feel forgiven”. Nor does it depend upon “forgiving yourself”. If it’s so important to “forgive yourself”, don’t you think God would have found a way to mention that in this Bible that is written to fully equip us to do every good work? No, don’t try to forgive yourself; you aren’t equipped for the job. What you must do is to accept the Bible truth that God, in Christ, has forgiven you: period.
o Adopted into the family
“As many as received (Christ), to them (God) gave the power to become (His) children, to them that believe on (Jesus)” (John 1:12). Listen again to Paul’s words from Ephesians 1: “In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace…” My calling card, my identity, was “sin”; now, through Christ, I am a child of the Holy God of the universe.
o Set apart as a saint
Here’s the term that Paul uses over and over again to address us: “saint”. That means “holy” or “set apart” one. That’s my identity: I am a saint. By nature, it’s true that “I’m no saint”, but in Christ, I am! Identity determines destiny, and I am called, as a holy one in God’s sight, to practically, daily, live a holy life.
• Commissioned by Christ
Paul received marching orders and mission from Jesus Christ, and that’s true of you and me as well now that we are in Christ. My identity, like Paul’s, is of one commissioned by Jesus; my destiny is thus to be a maker of disciples, bringing others to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Paul stood before an angry mob and told his story, the story of the radical change in his identity when he came to Christ, the radical transformation of his destiny in the same way. Those of us who have become followers of Jesus find our stories paralleling Paul’s. What about you?
5 Good Questions
1. Why is it so important for us to get a Biblical understanding of our identity, of who we are in Christ?
2. A Biblical understanding of our identity begins with understanding ourselves in relationship to Christ. What other sources of identity vie for the allegiance of Christians? How can we as followers of Christ be careful to remember that Christ is the One by Whom we are to be identified above all others?
3. Why do some Christians seem to struggle with the idea that all of their sins are forgiven in Christ?
4. From your knowledge of Scripture, what are some other things that are true of us, that make up our identities, as followers of Christ? Ephesians 1 is very helpful in this exercise!
5. Christ commissioned Paul to take the gospel outside of his “comfort zone”, to the degree that Paul argued with Him about the assignment. What are some of the “outside your comfort zone” areas of ministry that God has used you in? And if you can’t think of any…is that instructive in any way?
Looking Ahead
Acts 22:22-23:11 is our next unit of study. Read the text together and consider that Paul uses his rights as a Roman citizen to avoid being beaten. Is it always appropriate to “stand up for our rights”? When might it not be?
